Ex-sheriff's Lt. pleads not guilty to DUI

ST. GEORGE – A former Washington County Sheriff's officer pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor drunken driving charges Tuesday following a preliminary hearing of the evidence in 5th District Court, in which a judge found there is sufficient evidence to merit a trial in the case.

Judge G. Michael Westfall scheduled a September trial for Jason "Jake" Lynn Adams, 39, a lieutenant who resigned from the Sheriff's Office in March, a month after the incident on Toquerville's state Route 17 in which Adams is accused of rolling a sheriff's vehicle while taking his four children to shoot at a gun range.

Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Mike Murphy reported Adams was traveling east near milepost 1.5 in a Ford F-150 sheriff's patrol truck when the pickup went off the right side of the road, crossed back over both lanes and went off the left side of the road, where it rolled over and ended up on its roof.

Murphy reported Adams was unsteady on his feet and fell while being helped to Murphy's patrol vehicle after the incident, and failed three field sobriety tests before he was charged with a Class-A misdemeanor count of driving under the influence and a Class-C misdemeanor count of failing to operate a vehicle within a single lane.

Murphy also reported smelling a strong odor of alcohol on Adams' breath while the two were talking. A subsequent blood draw allegedly showed Adams had a blood alcohol content greater than the .08 grams legal limit.

Murphy reported the sobriety test was conducted on a "semi smooth surface" with rough, loose gravel. Under questioning from defense attorney Jason Schatz during Tuesday's hearing, Murphy acknowledged the conditions where the sobriety tests were conducted were not "ideal" because the road sloped and had gravel that could cause someone to slip.

Murphy testified that Adams and the children had already been checked and released by medical personnel when Murphy arrived but that Murphy hadn't spoken with the medical personnel about their findings.

Schatz asked Murphy if Adams showed any signs of injury, and Murphy noted Adams had a burn mark on his forehead that he continually rubbed, aggravating it.

Murphy reported that he asked Adams if he had any medical issues that would prevent him from taking the sobriety test, and Adams said he had none.

Schatz notified the court that before trial he will file a motion challenging the conditions under which some of the evidence was collected and ask that it be suppressed at trial.